Dan Gross: 2 local celebs meet up at the Tower

BENSALEM NATIVE Christina Perri invited Miss Philadelphia Maria Sciorillo to meet her when she played the Tower Theater with James Blunt Saturday.

Why? Because the newly crowned Sciorillo performed Perri's breakout hit "Jar of Hearts" to win the Miss Philadelphia pageant. When Perri, an Archbishop Ryan graduate, heard through a friend about Sciorillo singing her mournful ballad, she contacted the beauty queen, who was 2009 Miss Pennsylvania, to tell her she was touched and honored, and invited her to the Tower gig.

Perri's debut full-length album, "Lovestrong," will be released May 10 on Atlantic Records.

Radio romance

 NPR "Morning Edition" alum Bob Edwards and 90.1 WRTI news anchor Windsor Johnston have been dating for a few months now. Edwards, who turns 64 next month, now hosts "The Bob Edwards Show" for Sirius XM Radio and "Bob Edwards Weekend" on Public Radio International. Johnston, 34, says that she met Edwards in 2004, when she interviewed him about his second book, Edward R. Murrow: The Birth of Broadcast Journalism. They started dating late last year, after reconnecting on Facebook.

Edwards said that he would "not presume to supplement an account by such a skilled journalist" and let Johnston be the only one to remark on their romance.

He did, however, plug his memoir, coming out in November.

Kevin Eubanks honored Friday

Mount Airy native/musician Kevin Eubanks will be honored Friday by the Arts & Business Council during its awards luncheon at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The longtime "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" bandleader will accept his award before an audience of 1,300 business and arts leaders for his positive reflection of the region.

Tickets are available online at artsandbusinessphila.org.

Pro eater qualifies for Nathan's

Downingtown's Sean "Flash" Gordon became the first local International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) pro to qualify for Nathan's annual July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island. Flash ate 30 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas, where his father, Gary, also tried to qualify but failed to do so. Gary did eat eight hot dogs, though, not bad for an amateur, as his wife (and Flash's mom), Jane, cheered them on.

Speaking of pro eaters

IFOCE pro Dave "U.S. Male" Goldstein, a South Jersey letter carrier, competes May 14 in Atlantic City in the Pizza Slaughterfest at Tony Baloney's (300 Oriental) to benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand, which fights childhood cancer. U.S. Male will face Jonathan "Super" Squibb, a three-time champion of 610 WIP's Wing Bowl. For more info, visit pizzaslaughterfest.com.

'Baseball Tonight' at ballpark

Former Phillie John Kruk will be in town Sunday along with his ESPN "Baseball Tonight" colleagues Karl Ravech, Barry Larkin, Bobby Valentine and Orel Hershiser to broadcast at 12:30 and 7 p.m. outside Citizens Bank Park before ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" game of the week with the Phillies/Mets. "Sunday Night" will also air the Phillies/Braves game at Citizens Bank Park on May 8.

And speaking of ESPN . . .

ESPN's Mike Tirico, in town covering the Sixers game, and a female companion dined Saturday at Davio's (111 S. 17th) on filet mignon and cheesesteak spring rolls with a bottle of red wine. Tirico left a very generous tip and briefly chatted with 610 WIP's Angelo Cataldi, who was eating with Fox 29's John Bolaris.

Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest updates or follow PhillyGossip on Twitter. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or email grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit www.philly.com/DanGross.